Vault-head.



A. W. KURZ.

VAULT HEAD.

APPLIOATION FILED 13120.6, 1911.

v1,092,921 Patented Apr.'14,1914.

b\\\\ WITNESSES A; ATTORNEYJ COLUMBIA PLANDGRM'H (KI-.WASHINGTON. u. c.

a dental closing, said cover being of such con- NITED STAES AUGUST W. KURZ, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

VAULT-HEAD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 14, 1914.

Application filed December 6, 1911. Serial No. 664,238.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUGUST W. KURZ, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in 'Vault- Heads, of which the following is a specification. 7

The main object of this invention is to provide a Vault head consisting of a main member and a cover at all times loosely interlocked with the main member for a bodily displacing movement, whereby said cover may be swung from its closed to its open position but cannot be detached or withdrawn from the main member,

Another object of the invention is to so construct the cover that it may be placed in an upright position on one of its edges and be sustained in that position against accistruction that a lifting pressure must be exerted on it to unseat it and return it to its normal spanning position.

' Another object of the invention is to provide the cover at one edge with depending means adapted to engage a lug or lugs on the main frame, said depending means serving to support the cover in its vertical or open position and to prevent the detachment of the cover from the main member.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hood which will serveas a keeper to lock the cover to the main member and as means for holding the cover in its normal spanning position in the main member.

In the drawings, Figure l is a plan view of a vault head constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 a longitudinal vertical sectional view on the line Il-II of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 a similar view of a portion of the vault head showing the cover in its raised or open position; and Fig. 4 a detail sectional view showing a slightly different arrangement of the parts for locking the cover to the main member.

Referring to the various parts by numerals, 1 designates the main member which is formed with an upstanding rectangular flange surrounding the manhole. At the base of this flange an outwardly extending, horizontal, circular base flange 2 is formed, said base flange being adapted to rest upon a suitable support, usually surrounding. a basin opening or sewer inlet or vent. The rear wall 3 of the main member is cutaway extending hooks somewhat so that it is lower than the remainder of the upstanding rectangular flange. A portion also of the side walls of the main member are likewise cut away and these cut-away portions are adapted to receive and support a hood 4 forming a keeper, which is bolted or otherwise permanently secured to the main member. The hood is provided along its forward vertical edges with inwardly extending vertical flanges 5 which form stops for the rear edge of the cover, as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings; The main member is formed with the cover supporting lugs 6 adjacent the hood, and with interlocking lugs 7, these latter lugs being above the cover supporting lugs and having their lower faces curved, as at '8. These interlocking lugs are so located that they are just below the lower surface of the cover when the cover is in its normal spanning position, The cover 9 is formed near its rear edge at opposite side edges with the downwardly and forwardly 10. The rear surfaces of these hooks are vertical and the under surfaces thereof are horizontal. The inner surfaces of these hooks are concave, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and are adapted to receive within them the stops 7 the curved sides 8 of said stops being adapted to be engaged by the inner curved surfaces of the books 10, in the opening and closing movement of the cover, as will be more fully hereinafter de scribed. The stops 7 will also be engaged by the hooks 10 should the rear edge of the cover be lifted while said cover is in its normal spanning position.

In the normal spanning position of the cover, its outer end rests upon the corner lugs 11 which support it flush with the upper surface of the main frame. The upper surfaces of the lugs 6 are substantially level or horizontal and the straight lower surfaces of the hooks 10 are adapted to seat thereon when the cover is in its normal spanning position. The rear vertical these hooks are adapted to abut squarely against the vertical flanges 5 of the hood. The lugs 7 do not at any time support the cover 9 but serve merely as a means for locking the cover to the mainframe. When the cover is in its normal spanning position the lugs 7 lie almost wholly within the hooks 10 so that the hooked end of the cover cannot be lifted beyond said interlocking lugs.

The outer sides of the books 10 are parallel surfaces of with and lie close to the inner surfaces of the side walls of the main member. By reason of this the cover cannot be turned or swung within the main member or placed at a sufficient angle with respect thereto to free the hooks from the lugs 7. This angular or irregular movement of the cover is so restricted that one lug 7 will be sufficient to prevent the detachment of the cover from the main member and I, of course, do not wish to be restricted to the use of the pair of lugs 7. However, under most conditions it will probably b preferable to use two lugs.

When it is desired to place the cover in its vertical or open position it is only necessary to lift its outer or forward edge. This will cause the rear edge of the cover to engage the keeper after which said edge will serve as a fulcrum or turning point for the cover. It is manifest that as the front edge of the cover is lifted the rear corner thereof will engage the face of the keeper or hood and the hooks 10 will be slid forwardly on the lugs 6, and the rear edge of the cover will slide down the face of the keeper. This lifting movement of the cover must be continued until the center of gravity of the cover is moved rearwardly beyond the lugs 7 and the under surface of the hooks 10, it being, of

course, understood that this under surface is moving forwardly and upwardly as the cover is lifted. hen the center of gravity has been shifted sufficiently the cover will automatically-assume the position shown in Fig. 3, with the rear surfaces of the hooks 10 resting squarely on the supporting lugs 6. It is manifest that when the cover is in this position the lugs 7 will prevent it from being accidentally returned to its spanning position through any lateral pressure applied to the cover tending to swing it forwardly and downwardly to the main member. It is clear that if the cover be swung forwardly it will fulcrum on the lower rear corner of the hooks 10. This movement would throw the upper portions of the hooks against the lugs 7 and limit the forward swingingmovement of the cover. As this movement would not be sufficient to carry the center of gravity of the cover forward of the lugs, said cover would fall back to its vertical position if released. This is a valuable feature of my invention, for the reason, that it is very desirable to provide means to prevent the cover being accidentally swung to its closed position. These covers are open only when workmen are engaged about them and when an accidental closing of the cover might seriously injure them.

To return the cover to its normal position a lifting force must be first exerted on the cover sufficient to free the hooks 10 from the supporting lugs 6. This forward movement of the cover is preferably suificientto bring the curved surfaces of the hooks into contact with the lugs 7. The cover may then be swung forwardly and downwardly, the hooks 10 riding over the lugs 7 until the center of gravity of the cover is forward of said lugs when the cover may be dropped to the main frame. It will then be necessary to slide the cover rearwardly or toward the keeper to bring the rear vertical surfaces of the hooks against the keeper, in which position the forward edge of the cover may be dropped down within the main frame to the lugs 11.

The interlocking lugs 7 are at all times within the hooks 10 and prevent the detachment of the cover from the main member. The flanges 5 of the keeper prevent the cover being forced rearwardly into the hood sufficiently to release the hooks from the lugs 7. r o 7 In assemblingthe parts the cover is first placed in position in the main member and then the hood is bolted or otherwise rigidly secured in position'on the main member, thus permanently interlocking the cover with the main member. g It is manifest that the keeper need not be in the form of a hood but may be of any desirable form soylong'as it provides means for preventing a rearward movement of the cover suflicient to free the hooks 10 from the lugs 7. In those constructions of vault heads" in which the hood is used in connection with the cover it is convenient to have the hood serve as thekeeper, but, of course, the hood may be dispensed with and any other suitable form ofkeeper substituted therefor.

It is manifest that the keeper, whatever its form may be, may be a fixed part of the structure and either the lugs 7 or the hooks 1O attached to the main member or to the cover respectively, when the parts are assembled. f

In Fig. 4; is shown a slightly modified arrangement of the parts. In this arrange ment the hooks 10 are preferably permanently and rigidly secured in position when assembling the parts. The lugs 7 a are also permanently and rigidly bolted in place when assembling the parts. The keeper 4: in this arrangement of the parts is an integral part of the main member.

From the foregoing it is manifest that I provide an exceedingly simple, cheaply con- 7 I structed, and eflicient vault head wherein the parts may be very strongly constructed and by means of which the cover will be loosely interlocked with the main member so that said cover cannot be entirely detached or removed from the main member. It is also manifest that because of the shapeand location of the hooks 10 it will be impossible to tilt or lift the cover by a downward pressure or strain applied to the cover along the in ner or rear edge. This is so because the hooks 10 are flush with. the rear or inner edge of the cover and the point of support of the cover in its normal spanning position, at its inner end, is directly below the said inner edge whereby any downward pressure or weight applied to the cover along its inner edge is taken up by the hooks 10 and lugs 6. It is manifest that it will be impossible to give to the cover a tilting movement by a downward pressure applied to the cover.

What I claim is: i

1. A vault head comprising a main member formed with an interlocking lug on one of its side walls, a cover formed with a downwardly and forwardly extending hook adapted to interlock with the said lug and to thereby prevent the complete detachment of the cover from the main member, and a keeper connected to the main member and arranged to prevent the rearward disconnection of the hook from the locking lug.

2. A vault head comprising a main member formed with supporting lugs and interlocking lugs, a cover formed with a downwardly and forwardly extending hook, said book being straight on its rear surface and on its bottom surface and extending around the locking lugs, the lower straight surface of said hooks resting on the supporting lugs of the main member when the cover is in its normal spanning position, and a keeper adapted to be engaged by the rear vertical edges of said hooks when said cover is in its normal spanning position, the rear straight edges of the hooks being adapted to rest upon the supporting lugs and sustain the cover in its open or vertical position, the interlocking lugs being so placed that they prevent the withdrawal of the cover from the main member.

3. A vault head comprising a main member formed with lower supporting lugs and upper interlocking lugs, a keeper connected to the main member adjacent said lugs and a cover normally spanning the manhole and formed with depending hooks at its rear edge, said hooks resting 011 the supporting lugs and receiving within them the interlocking lugs, the keeper preventing the disconnection of the hooks from the lugs.

4. A vault head comprising a main mema cover normally spanning the manhole and formed with depending hooks at its rear edge, said hooks resting on the supporting lugs and adapted to engage the keeper and receiving between them the interlocking lugs, the interlocking lugs being so placed that the cover may be moved outwardly to move its rear edge away from the keeper to permit the cover to be swung upwardly to a vertical position.

5. A vault head comprising a main member formed with supporting lugs and interlocking lugs, a cover formed at one of its edges with depending extensions having two surfaces one adapted to engage the supporting lug to support the cover in its normal spanning position and the other to engage said lug when the cover is in a vertical open position, said extension locking with the interlocking lugs of the main member to prevent the withdrawal of the cover from said main member.

6. A vault head comprising a main member, a cover formed with hooks having two sustaining surfaces at approximately right angles to each other, one being adapted to hold the cover in its normal spanning position and the other in its vertical open position, inwardly extending interlocking lugs on the main member lying within the hooks of the cover, sustaining lugs formed on the main member adapted to be engaged by the sustaining surfaces of the hooks and means to prevent a lateral movement of the cover tending to disconnect it from the interlocking lugs.

7. A vault head comprising a main member, a cover formed with hooks having two sustaining surface, one perpendicular to the upper surface of the cover and the other parallel therewith and interlocking lugs formed on the main member and loosely engaged by the hooks on the cover and supporting lugs on the main member adapted to be engaged by the sustaining surfaces of the cover hooks.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

AUGUST W. KURZ.

ber formed with lower supporting lugs and Witnesses:

upper interlocking lugs, a keeper connected F. R. MILLER,

to the main member adjacent said lugs and i L. MAGUIRE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner 01' Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

